Bloom responds to his critics

Diversity of opinion is a cornerstone of democratic thought and principle. It's what we hold above almost everything else.The easiest response to my article is to condemn me and the issues I raise. That's a tried-and-true tactic. Kill the messenger, ignore the message. That's safe and convenient. But it doesn't get at some of the raw, undeniable questions this story poses.

Perhaps my article gave some Iowans a moment to refocus their attention elsewhere - from some of the real issues confronting the state - Walmart taking over the retail-trade sector, empty storefronts, water pollution among the worst in the nation, factories shutting down, the state's brain drain, undocumented workers taking minimum-wage jobs in the state's under-regulated slaughterhouses, not to mention the tragedy that anyone can see walking into the state's casinos.

I'm a proud journalist. I still believe in the adage, "Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable." Today, much of the state is afflicted by a ravaged economy. Iowa's population growth has flat-lined. But I guess it's just more comforting to some Iowans to condemn me for pointing out these issues and others.

Sorry if I offended, but that's the real job of journalism. Or it should be.

Stephen Bloom

Iowa City

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Bloom responds to his critics

Diversity of opinion is a cornerstone of democratic thought and principle. It's what we hold above almost everything else.The easiest response to my article is to condemn me and the issues I raise.